Gretchen Kurtz
Westword
California, United States
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Past articles by Gretchen:
Infinity Goods a Finalist in National Geographic Plastic Innovation Challenge
The Denver-based Infinity Goods plans to operate as a noble middleman, buying in bulk from farmers’ markets, grocery stores and local food manufacturers, packaging the goods in reusable containers, and delivering them to your doorstep for a small fee. → Read More
Taking the No-Plastic Challenge in Colorado
Last week my oldest — a high school senior who reveres teen climate activist Greta Thunberg — threw down a challenge. Could I go a day without single-use plastics, the stuff that can only be used once before it’s thrown away or recycled and is now harming marine life and clogging our oceans? → Read More
Chef Dana Rodriguez Talks About Soup, Super Mega Bien and Coming to America
The James Beard Best Chef Southwest finalist also serves up her red chile chicken pozole recipe. → Read More
The Ten Best Dishes in Denver in 2018
Growth has its downsides: rising rents, increased traffic, gentrification. But it also directly translates to more kitchens and more opportunities for chefs to wow us with their creativity. Here are the ten best dishes to come out of those kitchens this year, the majority at restaurants in parts of town that are... → Read More
Alon Shaya Has Another Winner With Safta, His Restaurant in the Source Hotel
Alon Shaya opened his restaurant in the Source Hotel this summer. → Read More
Brightmarten Is a Good Neighborhood Restaurant in a Classic Denver Neighborhood
Denver is growing quickly, but at heart it’s still a city of neighborhoods, with independent restaurants designed for neighbors. When it opened in Bonnie Brae in 2018, Brightmarten hit the mark. → Read More
Review: Q House Will Make You Forget Moo Shu Pork Ever Existed
Q House, which opened in early 2018 on East Colfax, has a name that rfers to Q, the Taiwanese term for starchy foods, such as rice, buns or dumplings, that are perfectly cooked. But the tiniest of details can push a place far from perfection. A menu with better balance would help Q House come closer to living up to... → Read More
20th Street Cafe Deserves to Be Discovered by New Generation of Denver Diners
A meal at this downtown Denver diner is flavored with history. → Read More
Review: Acova Creates a Local Roost for a Fast-Changing Neighborhood
Acova (in Italian, the name means nest — or, more accurately, to sit on eggs) is contemporary, whimsical and welcoming, with ostrich heads painted on exposed brick, a host stand made from a repurposed Patsy’s pasta maker, and blue pendant lamps. Garage windows flood the corner bar with sunlight. The dining room is... → Read More
The Family Jones Is a Spirited Restaurant As Well As a Distillery
Truth is, the Family Jones isn’t really a bar. Yes, a copper still and wood fermenters on the mezzanine classify it as a distillery, and the cocktail program is smart and innovative. But under the direction of opening chef Tim Dotson, this kitchen isn’t about to be an afterthought. → Read More
Super Mega Bien, a Smart New Restaurant in RiNo, Is Fun and Fast
The food at Super Mega Bien is so good, this new restaurant in Denver's RiNo district doesn't need gimmicks. These plates could be delivered by mimes or shoved on a cafeteria tray by a lunch lady and they’d still be terrific. While the dim sum carts are definitely fun, everything moves too fast. → Read More
Acreage Takes You to the Land of Possibilities...and Stem Ciders
Cars snake far down the road from Acreage, the restaurant on the Stem Ciders production campus in Lafayette. Dry fields stretch in all directions. The mountains loom gray and grayer from an approaching storm. For setting alone, Acreage is worth the drive. Factor in the whole package — the wood-fired food, the... → Read More
Review: Bang Up to the Elephant! Is a Funhouse of Food and Drink
Kevin Delk’s restaurant is the Casa Bonita of Capitol Hill, only hipper, funnier and more fun. Instead of cliff divers, you get fantastical decor, live music, pay-what-you-wish yoga, performance art, and seating that’s good for the big-group birthdays and gangs-all-here gatherings that add to the festive vibe. → Read More
Troy Guard's FNG Lives Up to Its Initials — It's That Good!
If the closing of Bubu and Lucky Cat in Lowry taught Troy Guard anything, it’s that “location trumps all,” he says. In other words, he learned the importance of giving the neighborhood what it wants. And with FNG, he did just that, creating a fun, affordably priced restaurant that any neighborhood would be happy to... → Read More
Atelier by Radex Gives Denver Diners a Taste of What They've Lost
At Atelier by Radex, you get a taste of the decades that paved the way for today’s earnest food scene, in a white-tablecloth, candlelit environment that makes you as nostalgic for what we’ve lost as for what we’ve gained. → Read More
Julep Serves Up Biscuits and a Heaping Helping of Hospitality in RiNo
"I didn’t want to do a type of Southern greatest hits,” explains chef/owner Kyle Foster, whose restaurant marries both his Southern heritage and stints in tasting-menu kitchens. “I wanted to push more of the mentality of a Southerner, using their traditions and resourcefulness.” → Read More
Ultreia Will Transport You to Spain...Without Leaving Union Station
Ultreia is definitely destination dining. Located in an old train station, the “gastroteka" will transport you to Spain. The effect is what counts, the complete and utter feeling of being whisked away. “When guests make decisions on where to spend money,” says co-founder/owner Jennifer Jasinski, “they want an... → Read More
Call Shows Duncan Holme's Expertise in the Kitchen
Call is just phase one of a two-part project. Next summer, the same crew will open Beckon, an adjacent, tasting-menu-only restaurant more in line with... → Read More
Tavernetta Is Restaurant Royalty in Colorado, But You'll Get the Royal Treatment
If Colorado has culinary royalty, Bobby Stuckey and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, the guys behind Frasca Food and Wine, are surely wearing crowns. Pick... → Read More
Review: Ambli Delivers International Fare With a Human Touch
Four years after it opened in an unlikely strip mall, Ambli is better than ever. → Read More